Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on June 17
We’re keeping track of the latest news regarding the coronavirus in South Florida and around the state. Check back for updates throughout the day.
COVID-19 foreclosure ban for homeowners extended through Aug. 31. But there’s a catch
6 p.m.: Citing concerns over the economic impact of the coronavirus shutdown, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has extended the national moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to Aug. 31. The current moratorium was set to expire on June 30.
But there’s a catch. The moratorium only applies to single-family mortgages backed by the Enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The protection includes condo owners.
“To protect borrowers and renters during the pandemic we are extending the Enterprises’ foreclosure and eviction moratorium, said FHFA director Mark Calabria. “During this national health emergency no one should worry about losing their home.”
Read the full story here.
Florida nursing homes to test staff for COVID-19 every 2 weeks under emergency rule
5 p.m.: Since the disease started spreading in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in March, COVID-19 has taken 1,588 lives and caused thousands more infections in Florida’s long-term care facilities.
Wednesday, state officials issued an emergency rule requiring that all facility staff be tested for the virus every two weeks.
The emergency order does not require that residents be tested, though many of the facilities are testing residents independently. A spokeswoman for the Agency for Health Care Administration did not respond immediately as to why not.
Read the full story here.
How many people have recovered from coronavirus in Florida? It’s complicated
3 p.m.: Florida has confirmed more than 80,000 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. But how many of those people are still sick? How many have recovered?
It’s complicated.
Recovery data is not the most accurate or the most important measure for charting the course of an outbreak, according to health experts at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health and at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Some states provide recovery data, others don’t. And the states that do provide estimates might not use the same definition for recovery, which makes it more difficult to give an accurate representation of recovery data during the COVID-19 crisis.
But, recoveries give people hope.
Florida coronavirus death toll hits 3,000 as state cases rise to 82,719
1:00 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Wednesday morning confirmed 2,610 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 82,719. There were also 25 new deaths announced, raising the statewide death toll to 3,018.
A Miami Herald analysis of public and non-public COVID-19 data found that as of June 3, new cases in Florida had consistently been trending up since mid-May and the trends could not be attributed solely to increases in testing, which had been inconsistent and sometimes declining during that period.
16 friends went out for a drink at a Florida bar. Then they tested positive for coronavirus
10 a.m.: Sixteen people walked into a Florida bar. And they think they walked out with coronavirus.
It’s no joke.
The group of friends tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after celebrating a birthday at a crowded bar in Jacksonville Beach this month, according to multiple news reports. At least seven bar employees have also reportedly tested positive for the disease.
The outing happened a day after Florida bars, except in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, were allowed to reopen at half capacity on June 5 as part of the second phase of Florida’s reopening plan.
Despite recent surge of COVID-19 cases, FIU plans to resume in-person classes in the fall
9:45 a.m.: Florida International University has approved a three-phase blueprint to resume on-campus classes for the fall semester, with the first step being that all students, faculty and staff will have to answer COVID-19 related questions on an FIU-built app before returning to the university’s two campuses.
Similar to what other higher education institutions have announced across the country, FIU’s plan, called “Panthers Protecting Panthers,” relies heavily on the screening of symptoms, testing and tracing of contacts.
FIU’s board of trustees approved the measures, which the Florida Board of Governors would have to approve during its June 23 meeting, along with the plans submitted by each of the 11 other state universities.
Florida finds no evidence of fraud by Miami hospital charging $150 for COVID-19 tests
9:35 a.m.: Florida’s top law enforcement officer has closed the state’s fraud investigation into Larkin Community Hospital, finding no evidence of wrongdoing by the hospital for charging $150 for COVID-19 tests that Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump said would be free for consumers.
The office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody launched the probe after DeSantis called for an investigation of a South Florida hospital that was charging $150 per test. DeSantis did not name the hospital, but Larkin was the only hospital in the region charging for tests at the time the governor made the request on March 27.
In a March news conference, DeSantis called the $150 charge “not acceptable here in the state of Florida. The president has made clear … the tests are free.”
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9:30 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Wednesday begins.
▪ Florida sees a record 2,783 daily coronavirus cases as state total hits 80,000
▪ Ron DeSantis, on climbing coronavirus case numbers: ‘We’re not rolling back’
▪ University of Miami students to return in the fall to Gables campus, despite coronavirus
▪ Florida’s crash testing program offers snapshot of COVID-19’s deadly toll in long-term care
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on June 17."
